


Really Really

by humorless_hexagon



Category: The Bright Sessions (Podcast)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Pre-The AM Archives, Sickfic, it is incredibly wholesome, they're watching legally blonde
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:55:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28395753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/humorless_hexagon/pseuds/humorless_hexagon
Summary: Joan is sick, and Sam doesn't mind being a shoulder to lean on.--Request from free-egg-voucher on tumblr:bright sessions sickfic maybe? it can be for any ship you want and non-romantic sickfics are also cool, I just think the fandom has an unfortunate lack of sickfics lol
Relationships: Samantha Barnes/Joan Bright
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	Really Really

“You can say it,” Joan offers as she discards the sixth tissue she’s used in as many minutes.

Sam keeps her eyes glued on the TV to avoid Joan’s perceptive gaze. On screen, Reese Witherspoon is strutting through the halls of Harvard, which Sam always thought looked less impressive than they were made out to be. For a moment, Sam thinks Joan will just drop it, but with a rallying sniff she narrows her gaze. Nothing can get past Joan’s intense eyes, even when she has a cold.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sam says, a smile betraying her lie.

“Then I will say it,” Joan resigns. She pulls her blanket further up to cover her face in shame. “You were right.”

Sam can’t help but gloat, “Who? Me?” She never gets to be right, so she reckons she is allowed  _ one _ moment of hubris.

“Yes, you.” Joan peeks out from behind her blanket shield with a fond glance. “I should have taken a break when you told me to.”

“And…?”

Joan rolls her eyes but acquiesces to Sam’s prodding. “ _ And _ now my head is full of mucus, and I am very grateful that you’re spending time with me even though I have no choice but to blow my nose every time they’re saying something important in the movie. And… and I love you.”

“I love you too, Joan… and I told you so.” Sam grins so hard she can feel it in her cheeks. She really does love Joan-- she loves Joan’s patience, her empathetic intuition, the way she combs her hair after a shower. Sam loves the lilt in Joan’s voice right before she makes a devastating move in Catan, the press of her head in the crook of Sam’s neck when they’re dancing to an old record in the living room. And, right now, Sam loves taking care of her.

“Can you pass me my water?”

Sam slides the glass across the coffee table. Joan takes a generous gulp before putting the cup on a coaster resembling the playbill for  _ Hello, Dolly! _ from a set that Sam got from Caleb as a birthday gift last year.

Joan sighs, “Sorry I’m so helpless right now.” She looks woefully up at Sam as she traces shapes into the condensation of the glass.

Sam pegs her with an incredulous look. “Joan, you’re sick. You can’t help it.”

“I know.” Joan shrugs. “I just wish I weren’t so needy.”

“I don’t mind. Really.”

“Really?”

“Really really,” Sam promises. They share a furtive smile and fall back into comfortable silence as their attention returns to the movie.

Joan drifts off to sleep right as Reese Witherspoon is giving “Bend and Snap” lessons at the salon. Sam momentarily thinks poorly of Jennifer Coolidge for trying to pick up a man at her work, but she reasons that she probably shouldn’t be one to judge. In Sam’s defense, she internally rebuts, she did not seek out Joan intending to seduce her therapist. Sam glances over at Joan to witness her attempt to roll over in her sleep. The blanket falls off of her and onto the floor, prompting Sam to pick it up and put it more securely over her napping girlfriend .

Sam’s stomach growls, and she figures it's as good a time as any to make some lunch.

“You made me soup?” Joan chirps from the couch, a little more than an hour later. Sam’s already eaten a sandwich and brought another box of tissues over to the coffee table.

“Don’t get too excited. I just poured a can into a pot and heated it up.”

Joan blows her nose once more and sits up. “You made me soup.”

If Sam were being generous, she would say Joan's eyes are adoring as Sam hands her the bowl. Instead, Sam says, “Careful, it’s hot.”

“Thank you, Sam.”

“It’s no problem, really.” She slumps back into the couch and rewinds the movie back to the parts that Joan missed. Meanwhile, Joan hums with content as she slurps her soup, lacking the usual reservation she performed around others. Another thing Sam loves-- Joan’s authenticity when they’re together. Sure, Joan is authentic with other people, but there is always a mask of unwavering dependability. Sam figures she deserves a break from being a superhero therapist, protective sister,  _ and  _ steadfast girlfriend. Besides, it feels nice to be the one Joan depends upon, rather than the other way around for once. Side effect of dating your former therapist, Sam supposes.

Soon, Joan discards the soup bowl onto the coffee table and readjusts herself on the couch, carefully positioning her head in Sam’s lap. Sam gently strokes Joan’s hair, receiving an approving sigh. Even after the movie ends and Netflix starts auto-playing a random dime-a-dozen rom-com, the two don’t move.

“Maybe I’ll just quit my job and we can just stay like this forever,” Joan suggests. Sam doesn’t have to be generous to recognize how much love is in Joan’s small smile.

“Then you would always have a cold. I don’t know if we can afford to fund your burgeoning tissue addiction.”

“Maybe I’ll just quit my job, and get better, and  _ then _ we can just stay like this forever,” Joan amends.

Sam strains her neck to plant a soft kiss on the center of her forehead. “Sounds good to me.”

And it does. Sick or not, Sam wouldn’t mind Joan in her lap for another hour, or the rest of the day, or maybe even forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you free-egg-voucher for the request-- it was an absolute blast to write! And thank YOU reader! please leave a kudo or a comment if you enjoyed!


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